You're DESTROYING your knees people!

Is the pool chlorinated or Ozoned?

Better find out!

frustrated wrote:

why do you runners insist on ruining your knees with all those miles run and walking around like zombies because you're so tired? My brother has been a runner for 10 years and I've warned him umpteen times that by the time he's 60, he's going to need a walker because his knees will be shot. Find a healthier sport for crying out loud!!

Because those that heel strike ruin their knees. Stop heel striking, problem solved.

Next Question, Please!

You know, I come on here, and I'm just trying to help. I'm trying to look out for you guys. And all I get is a bunch of mean-spirited comments. What gives? I never knew runners were such nasty bunch. My brother's cool, but I don't know what's wrong with you f***ers.

Wrong sport girly. Take this to the football and basketball forum, where the real knee issues persist.

I hear their post-sporting lives are filled with obesity and bad joints.

frustrated wrote:

why do you runners insist on ruining your knees with all those miles run and walking around like zombies because you're so tired? My brother has been a runner for 10 years and I've warned him umpteen times that by the time he's 60, he's going to need a walker because his knees will be shot. Find a healthier sport for crying out loud!!

Why do you swimmers insist on ruining your shoulders with all those laps swam and walking around like zombies because of all the hours spent in the pool? My brother has been a swimmer for 10 years and I've warned him umpteen times that by the time he's 60, he's going to need robot arms because his shoulders will be shot. Find a healthier sport for crying out loud!!

frustrated wrote:

You know, I come on here, and I'm just trying to help. I'm trying to look out for you guys. And all I get is a bunch of mean-spirited comments. What gives? I never knew runners were such nasty bunch. My brother's cool, but I don't know what's wrong with you f***ers.

Trying to help? If you really want to help then stay the f*** off this site. Nobody here gives a shit about your opinion. Go start your own site and call it LetsSwim.com. I'm sure there are no messages boards for swimming because nobody gives a shit about swimming including your parents

Yep wrote:

Trying to help? If you really want to help then stay the f*** off this site. Nobody here gives a shit about your opinion. Go start your own site and call it LetsSwim.com. I'm sure there are no messages boards for swimming because nobody gives a shit about swimming including your parents

Factually, not actually true: see

and click on forums. I know this b/c I swim and sometimes participate in this forum. While some there have chosen the sport due to various running injuries, most don't criticize runners for running. Some, myself included, are runners. (As on letsrun, though, I'm afraid triathletes come under attack. But I digress....)

That aside, sorry, Frustrated, other than that I can't take up your case. And it's not that I never have knee problems. Sure I do. But I'd rather have bad knees--not a fatal condition that I know of (and usually treatable in various methods, often non-surgical)--than a bad heart caused by lack of activity. The latter is far more often a fatal condition.

Man if I had known you were so sensitive, I wouldn't have posted! What a bunch of panzies who can't handle the truth. You get what you deserve I guess. I'll see you in the pool in 15 years when you can't run anymore. And I'll kick your butt, too. Losers!

Look. Frustrated may be unwelcome, but that's no reason to shower him with abuse.

All you need to do, really, is point out that scientific evidence suggests that running does NOT ruin your knees.

Which is, of course, true.

[quote]frustrated wrote:

Actually my sport is swimming. quote]

You're going to ruin your hair.

You're going to have chronic ear infections.

Plus, if you wear goggles you'll ruin your eyes.

Speedos?--Ruin your junk.

Flippers--ruin your ankles.

If you don't wear goggles, the chlorine will ruin your eyes.

No chlorine in your pool? You're swimming in untreated pee.

If you keep your eyes shut you'll run into the side of the pool and ruin your arm or head.

If you don't swim in a pool you'll get eaten by a shark, plus the salt water will ruin your eyes.

Eyes shut--better chance of shark-eating since you won't see the tell-tale dorsal fin coming at you.

If you don't swim in a pool or the ocean you'll probably swim through human and industrial waste. This too will ruin your eyes.

If you swim outside, not in the ocean, with your eyes closed, you'll hit a boat (that could happen in the ocean too) and the pollutants will still ruin you skin, lungs and digestive tract.

If you swim in a full wetsuit, full face mask and oxygen tank or scuba tube you might be okay.

If I limit my running to about 4500 miles per year and take a day off if I get a sore knee (which hasn't happened in the 15 years I've been running) I'll be okay.

Tomy2Nuts wrote:

Wrong sport girly. Take this to the football and basketball forum, where the real knee issues persist.

I hear their post-sporting lives are filled with obesity and bad joints.

Is that a dedication?

Nice! At the start, this was no better than 4/10. But with the quality replies (including yours), I'd bump this to 6-7/10.

I honestly didn't think this would make two pages.

Congrats!

Dr. F is quite right, in his little rant-reply. Running is natural for humans, as it is natural for monkeys to be in trees and sharks to be in the water.

It's a natural form of movement, we learn automatically becuase we are created in a way that allows us to do it.

Swimming isn't really our playground, naturally...although we adapt. Flying isn't our natural form of movement, but we build aircraft, going 100 miles per hour isn't our speed, but we can do it in a car, skating isn't natural, we adapted to it, as we have with skiing and skydiving and bungee jumping.

Climbing trees we can do, but not near as well as we run, when in shape. Mountain climbing has it's natural limits, we are not made or that.

Running and walking is pretty much the only movement we ARE supposed to do and are made to do and do not need to adapt to, unless of course we sit around ALL THE TIME and get so far out of shape that we can't.

Frustrated was not trying to help. It's utterly foolish to go onto a running chat line and warn people that they are doing something to harm themselves, with no proof.

Running is good for the knees, as it is for the rest of the body.

For every person who complains that on the occassions they try running and get sore knees, I can identify 10x as many beer league softball players who get sore lats from swining a bat and a sore rotator cuff from throwing a ball and sore legs from sprinting to a grounder or to a base. Then they get a sunburn on their nose and rash from sliding in the grass....

You can apply bullshit to whatever you want....it's still bullshit.

frustrated wrote:

why do you runners insist on ruining your knees with all those miles run and walking around like zombies because you're so tired? My brother has been a runner for 10 years and I've warned him umpteen times that by the time he's 60, he's going to need a walker because his knees will be shot. Find a healthier sport for crying out loud!!

I've been running for 30 years, and at 62 still run everyday, 55-60 miles a week. My knees are doing just fine.

hahaha bump

Jim in SJ wrote:I've been running for 30 years, and at 62 still run everyday, 55-60 miles a week. My knees are doing just fine.

not an ethiopian but i follow wrote:

Jim in SJ wrote:I've been running for 30 years, and at 62 still run everyday, 55-60 miles a week. My knees are doing just fine.

Are you the guy from Cool Running who recently broke 40?

I believe he is. If it's him, he also runs low 19's for 5K.

the body is biomechanic, which means it fixes itself. it's not like a car, that needs new shocks or brakes, after so many miles. i know that we eventually wear down. but running helps your knees more than it hurts. it keeps you slim and strong therefore supporting the knees more. gimme a break